Advent Service

Sunday, December 06, 2006

Pastor Phillips' Sermon

Advent Service, Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Please pray with me. Heavenly Father, we are beginning this journey through the season of Advent and we thank you that we can walk this journey with you. We thank you that we have the prophet, Isaiah, and all of the Old Testament prophets who told about how this Messiah would come one day. And then we have the New Testament that tells us everything our Messiah, Jesus, did. Bless us as we meditate on your Word tonight, to be filled with your Holy Spirit, to understand beyond the shadow of a doubt our need for a Savior and how important it is that He has come and how that changes everything in our lives today. Bless us in Jesus' name, Amen.

We need a Savior. To be more specific, Iowa State needs a Savior. I went to a game this year, a football game, and their team had a tough year. Now Jamie Pollard, the new Athletic Director, did a great job of building up enthusiasm and getting a lot of people out to see the games and the crowds were huge. But it didn't help and, week after week, they suffered loss after loss. With several games to go in the season, it was pretty obvious the coach of 12 years would be asked to resign. The season ended with an emotional and dubious win and several weeks went by with speculation about who the new coach might be.

A press conference was scheduled and everyone was talking confidently about the fact they thought it would be that successful and impressive coach from Central Michigan University . It wasn't. The next day we all found out the name of the Cyclone Savior, Gene Chizik. And if you're like me, you said, “Who?” I never heard of him. Never heard his name before. And it didn't exactly inspire me to go out and get season tickets. We have no idea what he's going to do or if he's even going to improve things in Ames . But, boy, there's a lot of hope.

Desperate situations call for extraordinary action. And the people of God in Isaiah's time were in a desperate situation. They'd endured a long stream of humiliating defeats. First, they had chosen terrible kings to lead them. These were not men of integrity or strong faith. They were corrupt, greedy, and opportunistic. And when God called them to be faithful and obedient, they compromised and they made alliances with the pagan nations around them. Then later, they led their people to worship false gods. And God, the only true God, was not pleased. By caving into the trends of their time, they also compromised their security. Now they were being dominated by those same neighbors they had sought to blend in with. Families were torn apart as they were carried off into captivity as slaves. The wealth of their cities was plundered and even the temple, that beautiful shining jewel, the centerpiece of their society and their nation, was in ruins.

In their misery and despair, God spoke to them through Isaiah, His prophet. “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.” What a difference turning on the light makes. In the dark, we bump into things, get disoriented, lost, or even injured. For the people of Isaiah's time, this darkness referred to the demoralizing circumstances in which they lived. The only problem with these words of encouragement from Isaiah is they are prophecy, and there's no certainty about when it will come to pass, that the light will dawn, that the darkness will give way to glory, and the gloom will be exchanged for brilliant light. But still, these words were appealing to those people.

As we look at our lives and the idea of light and darkness, good things and bad things, the whole yen and yang thing of light and dark in our world swirls in and around everything we do and, as Christians, we wrestle with it. We wrestle with the gloom and darkness of our sin and the glory and light of God's grace. We live in a sin-darkened world, but we look forward to the brilliant eternal dawn of heaven.

Have you ever watched a day begin as the sun begins to come up? It's a fascinating thing to observe. At first, with the absence of light, color is gone as well. But with the beginning of the morning, the black first turns to gray and then to muted earth tones and then finally, in a dramatic visual crescendo, the full spectrum of the rainbow bursts gloriously around you. This is a good picture of the journey we are on as Christians. Everything in this world is colored or tainted by sin. Every moment is transitory. Every sensation is framed with the realization that it won't last. Every object we possess seems only rented for a brief time. This is life in the shadow of death. This is how Solomon described it. “I tried cheering myself with wine and embracing folly, my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives. I undertook great projects. I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers and a harem as well, the delights of the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this, my wisdom stayed with me. I denied nothing for myself, nothing my eyes desired. I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet, when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Nothing was gained under the sun.”

As we grow and mature in our faith, we begin to see things more clearly. We understand the material possessions we so diligently pursue are entrusted to us for a dual purpose, for our enjoyment and for the glory and service of God. We also realize the most precious part of God's creation is humanity and, as we take in the whole picture, we see that in Jesus, God has provided eternal care for the ones we love the most who die in faith. This knowledge brings the light of hope into our lives. The gloom and darkness of our loss fades into a beatific reunion that our Lord has planned. The fleeting shadows of our life here on earth are lost in the radiant splendor of eternal joy. The only question is when? This is prophecy. When will that light dawn? When will the Savior come?

For the people of Isaiah's time and for hundreds of years, the people living in darkness wondered, “When will this great light dawn and chase away death's shadows? When will our enemies be defeated and our land be free? When will our nation be restored and the glory of Israel shine like the noon day sun? When will our families come home and our wounded hearts be healed?” Again, Isaiah gives us the answer. “For to us, a child is born. To us, a Son is given. And the government will be on His shoulders and He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. On the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

These words describe the coming of the Messiah, the one chosen and anointed by God to deliver His people, the Savior. The Old Testament believers looked forward hopefully to His coming. This hope was like the first rays of the sun early in the morning, shining a light of hope to them. But for believers today, these words are a remembrance that Jesus has come. And as we reflect back on what that means, that Jesus came to save the world and was successful, this news lights our world with hope. When we endure difficulties, we know they are temporary. When we grieve the evil and the violence in our world, we know they will not be part of the next. And when we are separated from our loved ones, we know the separation is but a single drop in time compared to the ocean of eternity in paradise.

Yes, we all need a Savior. But the question remains when will the Savior come? Whenever we carry heavy burdens, the Savior comes to us and helps us. Whenever we confess our sins, the Savior comes to us and forgives us. And whenever we say goodbye to a loved one who dies trusting in Jesus, the Savior comes again and carries our loved one into paradise forever.

The Savior has come and will continue to come for us. And eventually, we'll celebrate that second coming as a grand and glorious day. And now we continue through this season of Advent anticipation looking forward to that glory. Amen.

Copyright 2006 Gloria Dei Lutheran Church